Rain Barrels & Gardens
Rain Barrels and Rain Gardens are popular ways to treat and properly manage stormwater run-off on personal property.
A rain barrel is a rainwater storage system that is connected to a downspout from a house or building. A rain barrel collects and stores rooftop runoff. A rain garden is an attractive, landscaped area typically planted with perennial native plants build in depressions which are designed to capture and filter stormwater runoff from impervious surfaces around the home, such as rooftops and driveways. Both types of water conservation help alleviate problems associated with flooding and drainage.
The following documents are helpful resources about rain barrels, and rain gardens.
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RAIN BARRELS
Many people ask where to get rain barrels. They can be purchased at a store, or you can search & buy them online, or the cheapest way is to make your own rain barrel. Our goal is water conservation! Below are a few YouTube videos on how to make your own rain barrel, along with a few PDF documents with suggestions as well. Good Luck!
Wayne SWCD - Rain Barrels;
Wayne SWCD - Painting your Rain Barrel;
Southwest Florida Water Management District - Rain Barrels - A Homeowner's Guide;
YouTube Video - Uses a planting basket - 6 ¼“ for filter on top;
YouTube Video (HGTV) - Bung on bottom, 3” hole top with window screen;
YouTube Video - 4” downspout adapter on top, vents & screen underneath;
YouTube Video (Penn State) - Uses atrium grate & drain sleeve on top for filter;
YouTube Video - Uses 8” round black grate on top –finishes with camo painting;
YouTube Video (Fort Hays student) - Uses PVC adapter (4” to 3”), cut over bung;
City of Bremerton, WA - How to Make Your Own Rain Barrel;
AWARE from Mahoning SWCD - Rain Barrels & Assembly;
Design Facts - Catch the rain that would have washed away;
Stark SWCD - Rain Barrel Installation Guide & How to install an Overflow Valve.
RAIN GARDENS
Geauga SWCD - Rain Garden Manual for Homeowners;
University of Wisconsin - Rain Gardens -A household way to improve water quality in your community;
Taylor Creek Restoration Nurseries, WI - Build your own Rain Garden;
Wayne SWCD - Helpful websites for Rain Gardens and Plants;
Virginia Department of Forestry - Rain Gardens - A Technical Guide;
Great Lakes Region, (Raingardens.org) - Rain Gardens for Pro Home Landscapes;
Mill Creek Watershed Council of Communities - Rain Gardens - A How to Guide;
Blue Thumb - Native Plants for Gardens, Rain gardens, & Shoreline Stabilization;
Warren SWCD - Rain Garden Flowers
Utilizing Rainwater and Gravity: A Guide to Rain Gardens- a great article with helpful links. Thanks to Chloe !
Suggested Rain Garden Plants for Ohio
Great information from Warren County SWCD
Soil moisture preferences: D = dry, M = medium, W= wet
Common Name / Botanical Name
Arrowhead / Sagittaria latifolia (W)
prefers full to partial sun and blooms white
Blazing Star / Liatris spicata (M)
prefers sun and blooms purple-pink
Blueberries / Vaccinium sp. (M-D)
prefers full to part sun and has red fall foliage
Blue Flag Iris / Iris versicolor (W)
prefers sun and blooms blue
Brown Eyed Susan / Rudbeckia trilob (M)
prefers full to partial sun and blooms yellow
Butterflyweed / Asclepias tuberosa (D)
prefers full to part sun and blooms orange
Columbine / Aquilegia canadensis (M)
prefers shade and blooms scarlet or yellow
Cup Plant / Silphium perfoliatum (M)
prefers full to part sun and blooms yellow
Forget-me-not / Myosotis sylvatica (W)
prefers full sun to partial shade and blooms blue
Great Blue Lobelia / Lobelia siphilitica (W)
prefers full to part sun and blooms blue
Joe-Pye Weed / Eupatorium purpureum (D)
prefers sun and blooms rose to pink
Little Bluestem / Schizachyrium scoparium (grass) (D)
prefers full sun and blooms yellow to red
Mountain-laurel / Kalmia latifolia (M)
prefers partial to full sun, evergreen shrub with pink flower clusters
Nannyberry / Viburnum lentago (M)
prefers full sun, small deciduous shrub with small white flowers and blue-black fruit
New England Aster / Aster novae-anglia (W)
prefers sun and blooms pink or purplish
Ohio Spiderwort / Tradescantia ohiensis (M)
prefers partial shade and blooms blue-violet
Prairie Cord Grass / Spartina pectinata (W)
prefers full sun and blooms green or gold
Prairie Dock / Silphium terebinthinaceum (D)
prefers full to part sun and blooms yellow
Purple Coneflower / Echinacea purpurea (D)
prefers full to part sun and blooms purple
Red Twig Dogwood / Cornus sericia (D-W)
deciduous shrub with small white flowers
Royal Catchfly / Silene regia (D)
prefers full to part sun and blooms red
Shasta Daisy / Chrysanthemum maximum (M)
prefers full sun and blooms white
Shining Sumac / Rhus copallinum (D)
prefers full sun, deciduous shrub with clusters of dark red fruit
Sneezeweed / Helenium atumnale (W)
prefers full to partial sun and blooms yellow
Smooth Aster / Aster laevis (D)
prefers sun and blooms blue
Stalk-Grain Sedge / Carex stipata (W)
prefers sun to light shade and blooms green
Swamp Milkweed / Asclepias incarnata (W)
prefers sun and blooms red-pink
Sweet Black Eyed Susan / Rudbeckia subtomentosa
(M)
prefers full to part sun and blooms yellow
White Turtlehead / Chelone glabra (W)
prefers sun and blooms white to purple
Wild Bergamot / Monarda fistulosa (D)
prefers full to part sun and blooms lavender
Wild Geranium / Geranium maculatum (M)
prefers full shade to partial sun and blooms pink